From the Bureau of Labor Statistics...

Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing

To enter some of the more highly skilled production occupations, workers must go through a formal apprenticeship. Machinists and electricians complete apprenticeships that can last as long as 4 years. Apprenticeships usually include classroom instruction and shop training.

Advancement in production occupations usually requires mastery of advanced skills, generally acquired by a combination of on-the-job training and formal training provided by the employer. Some workers advance into supervisory positions.

Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing

Workers with different levels of education find employment opportunities in the computer and electronic product manufacturing industry.
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Food Manufacturing

Some food manufacturing workers need specialized training and education. Inspectors and quality control workers, for example, are trained in food safety and usually need a certificate to be employed in a food manufacturing plant.
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Machinery Manufacturing

The composition of the machinery manufacturing labor force continues to evolve as labor intensive tasks are automated, increasing the proportion of production work that requires additional skills.
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Motor Vehicle and Parts Manufacturing

Faced with technological advances and the continued need to cut costs, manufacturers increasingly emphasize continuing education and cross-train many workers-that is, they train workers to do more than one job. This has led to a change in the profile of the industry's workers. Standards for new hires are higher now than in the past.
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Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing

Training requirements for jobs in the pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing industry range from a few hours of on-the-job training to years of formal education plus job experience.
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Printing

Workers enter the printing industry with various educational backgrounds. In general, job applicants must be high school graduates with mathematical, verbal, and written communication skills, and be computer literate.
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Steel Manufacturing

Many jobs in steel manufacturing require only a high school diploma. However, machinery continues to become more complex, and growing numbers of operating and maintenance positions are highly skilled, so employers increasingly prefer to hire graduates from formal postsecondary technical and trade schools. Two-year degrees in mechanical or electrical technology or 2- to 4-year apprenticeships are recommended for persons seeking to advance into the best production jobs.

Sample Occupations

Mechanical Draftsperson

What you'll be doing all day: You'll be the person making the plans and designs for a whole host of products. Maybe you'll be doing computer-aided design (CAD) on plans for a new jet. Maybe you'll be drawing schematics for a barbecue or a computer game console.

You'll have to be ultra-precise, know how to read diagrams and schematics, and do all kinds of mathematical calculations. You'll probably be asked to review blueprints and find any possible problems before they arise. And you'll have to reproduce and alter diagrams without a single mistake.

To learn more about this and other jobs in advanced manufacturing, visit our partner site, DreamIt-DoIt.

Welder

What you'll be doing all day: You might be working on anything from a custom motorcycle or mountain bike frame, to the wings on a private jet or even part of a bridge. Precise hand-eye coordination and a great attention to detail are a necessity to get those welds looking smooth as butter.

You'll also be creating parts from scratch, using all kinds of other tools, and checking tolerances to make sure your welds are perfect. There's a lot more too it than flipping down your welder's mask and firing up the old torch.

What someone with a little experience makes (roughly): $29,900

What type of education you'll need: Apprenticeship

To learn more about this and other jobs in advanced manufacturing, visit our partner site, DreamIt-DoIt.

Sculptor

What you'll be doing all day: Sure, you'll be carving stuff from clay, wax, plastic, wood or other materials. But you better have a good design background to start with, because you'll definitely have to draw and sketch things out first.

You might sculpt a prototype for a new computer speaker or cell phone. Your hands might help create an example of the next sports car model. Everything from MP3 players to soda bottles gets sculpted by someone. And that someone could be you.